Author: eatupbuttercup

Despite the fact that I’m out of school for the summer, I seem to be busier than ever right now. I took a summer job at a restaurant five days a week, plus I’m still working one day a week at the non-profit I’ve been working with for a couple of years. It’s all a bit exhausting but I need to save up a little before I start my internship in August. I think I’ll eventually get the swing of this whole six-day work week, but in the meantime I don’t have a lot of spare time on my hands and I need my meals to be really quick and easy. So, let’s keep this short and sweet and skip ahead to the food, shall we?

One of my go-to quick meals is a stir-fry. There are so many ways you can make a stir-fry. All you need is a protein, lots of veggies, and a reliably tasty seasoning/sauce combination. Serve over rice or noodles and you have a super simple healthy meal. The other night, I had half a can of coconut milk left over, so I decided to make a Thai inspired stir-fry. If you like coconut curry, you will love this and it is so easy! I used chicken, but really any protein would work here. Enjoy!

Before I moved to Brooklyn, I lived in the West Village in Manhattan for 5 years. I absolutely loved living there. Despite being in the heart of New York City, it really feels like a cute little neighborhood, with tree-lined streets and brownstones and families galore. It was very similar to the neighborhood where I live now in Brooklyn, but the restaurant situation is on a whole different level. Some of the best restaurants in NYC can be found in the West Village, and the variety of cuisines is incredible. Italian? Check. Sushi? Check. Brazilian? Check. Ethiopian? Check. You get the picture.

Anyway, one of my favorite meals to eat out is brunch. For me, there’s not much I would rather do on a weekend than get together with girlfriends at lunchtime to eat breakfast food and drink mimosas, especially on a patio on a nice day. The only complaint I ever have with a girls’ brunch is that a lot of brunch menus look almost exactly alike. You can pretty much predict there will be some sort of omelette, an eggs benedict or florentine, pancakes or waffles, potatoes, bacon, sausage. You know, the classics. Don’t get me wrong, I love the classics, but I really appreciate it when a restaurant thinks outside the box a little with their brunch menu. Variety is a good thing. One of my favorite brunch spots in the West Village, Joseph Leonard, mixes it up with some pretty unique regular menu items, plus every weekend they have a different brunch special.

One weekend, I went to brunch at Joseph Leonard and their special that day was a Moroccan chickpea stew topped with a poached egg. I was intrigued, so I had to try it. It was the absolute best brunch I’ve ever had. The spices in the stew created a flavor bomb, and I am always in love with a perfectly poached egg on anything. I wanted to bathe in the meal in front of me, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

In my quest to recreate that magical meal, I ended up with what has turned out to be my go-to batch recipe for busy weeks. This Moroccan chickpea stew is so flavorful – you get complex Moroccan flavor with just a little spiciness, then there’s a little pop of sweetness from golden raisins. Yum! Not only do I eat it for breakfast or brunch with a poached egg and toast, but I also eat it for lunch with tomato & cucumber salad, tsatziki and pita bread, or for dinner I’ll eat it over basmati rice or couscous with a dollop of Greek yogurt. You could also use it as a base for baked eggs. It’s so versatile and happens to be really easy to make using your slow cooker, too. Set it and forget it!

Directions
1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, then add onions and sauté for 2 minutes.
2. Add garlic and all spices and cook, stirring frequently, for another minute or 2, or until mixture becomes really fragrant.
3. Add onion and spice mixture to slow cooker (3.5 quarts or larger).
4. Add all other ingredients to slow cooker and stir to mix well.
5. Cover and set to cook on high for 4 hours.
6. Come home from work to an amazing home-cooked meal that makes your house smell like heaven.
7. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro if you have it and enjoy!

Note: if in a hurry, you can skip steps 1 and 2 and just put everything in the slow cooker and go, but these extra 2 steps really open up the flavors in the spices and make them pop.

Last week was my last spring break, probably for the rest of my life, and I went to Arizona to spend 6 amazing days with my boyfriend. It’s been a long time since I’ve lived like the locals anywhere outside of New York City, and I had forgotten how easy life can actually be. We have a lot of conveniences within a short walk here in NYC, but getting there is like playing a game of Frogger: dodging kids on scooters and oblivious adults walking with their noses buried in their phones. Then, when you get to your destination, there’s almost always a crowd. Don’t even get me started on the public transit. Being bumped by, having close physical contact with, and inhaling the coughs and sneezes of everyone on a packed train is glorious.

In Arizona, we had so much space! We had to drive everywhere, which is both good and bad. Clearly, there’s the benefit of avoiding the aforementioned public transit scenario, but it is more expensive and less environmentally friendly. And the stores and restaurants are big and not always crowded…it’s incredible. The only complaint I have was the heat. It hit 100 degrees at least three of the days I was there…in April. Summers there must be miserable.

Anyway, we kicked off the trip with a visit to the zoo. Yes, we are adults, but we still love the zoo. We got there when they opened to avoid the crowds for the main attraction – the baby animal nursery. They had baby jackals and hogs and lions! Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures because I was too busy squealing and trying to figure out how to get through the glass that separated me from them, but trust me when I say they were all ADORABLE!

Next, we went flying!!! My BF is out in Arizona training to be a commercial pilot. He already has his private license, so he took me up for a nice tour of the Phoenix area. This is the first time I’ve flown with him and, to be honest, I was a bit nervous. Not because I don’t trust his abilities, but because those tiny planes scare the crap out of me. I don’t know what I was worried about, though. We had smooth skies and it was incredibly peaceful. Such a great experience!

To end the trip, we drove up to Sedona for a fun little hike to a swimming hole called ‘The Crack’. The day we went was much cooler than the rest of my visit, which was good for the hike but not so great for swimming in cold water. It was nice and relaxing to sit on the rocks and enjoy the the cool air and sunlight, though. We had the place to ourselves for a while and it was so tranquil. We were surrounded by the mountains with gorgeous red rocks and we had the background noise of the stream running over the rocks below us. If you’re ever in that area, I highly recommend it.

Throughout the trip, we ate really well and stayed active. Another perk you wouldn’t find in NYC without paying an arm and a leg is a gym in his apartment complex. Oh, and swimming pools with grills. We made good use of all of it. We grilled steaks and fish, we swam, we hit the gym every day. We ate out a few times, too. There’s a lot of Mexican food in Arizona, so we took advantage of that. One thing that bothers me at Mexican restaurants is the rice. They usually give you a side of Spanish rice and beans with your meal, and the rice is almost always really bland. It’s usually an orange-yellow color, and they sometimes toss in some chopped vegetables – bell peppers or corn or carrots. At most restaurants, though, I have to dump an entire bowl of salsa on the rice to give it some flavor. It’s disappointing because I do love a good, tasty rice dish. So, I made my own Spanish rice and it is so flavorful you won’t even think about adding salsa. It makes a great side for tacos, enchiladas, fajitas…really anything. It’s also pretty easy to make and a lot of the ingredients are things I usually keep on hand anyway, so sometimes I throw some beans in and eat over spinach for lunch or dinner in a pinch. This version has a bit of spice to it, so if you don’t like spicy foods, you can skip the cayenne pepper and/or jalapeno. You can also use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth for a vegetarian option. Enjoy!

There’s been so much excitement around here I can hardly even handle it!

First and foremost, match day was last Sunday. Match day is the day students who are applying to dietetic internships find out whether or not they got into a program. A 9-12 month dietetic internship is a requirement for eligibility to sit for the exam to become a registered dietitian. It is the final step in my career change. The career change I’ve spent almost 4 years working toward…after quitting my very stable job. No pressure. After months of applying and waiting, I finally found out that I got matched and I will officially start my rotations in the Fall semester! A huge weight has officially been lifted.

Also, a couple of weeks ago, whilst studying, I heard something at my window. I looked up to see a man dressed in all black with a mask on his face standing on my fire escape trying to open my window. It was the middle of the day and I assumed he was looking for an empty apartment to rob, so I yelled to let him know I was there. He moved to the bedroom and tried opening that window, so I commenced freaking out. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever been so frightened in my life. Shaking uncontrollably, I called 911 and tried to map out my escape route in the event he managed to break in. Thankfully, the police got here within about 5 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Three plain-clothes officers came to my door and proceeded to tell me that they saw my landlord downstairs and he told them that he had a construction crew waterproofing the building. As you can imagine, I was at once filled with relief, embarrassment, and a little frustration. I have to say that I am extremely grateful to the NYPD for their quick response to what I thought was going to be my demise. I think my heart rate has finally returned to normal, so I can have a good laugh about it now.

And looking ahead, I get to go to Arizona and spend a week with my boyfriend in 10 days! We’re going to go hiking and cook a lot and he’s going to take me flying. I absolutely cannot wait!

So many flowers at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden!

Another pretty exciting event is the onset of spring. The warm air and green trees and flowers just make me happy. One of the side effects of the beginning of spring is seeing bunnies and pastel everything everywhere you go, though, which inevitably leads to cravings for carrot cake. So instead of making a whole big cake for just me, I tried my hand at making my oatmeal taste like carrot cake, and it turned out to be so good that I can’t stop making it. If you love carrot cake, you must try this. It’s really easy and quick, too. The hardest part is shredding the carrots, which can be made easier by throwing them in the food processor. The recipe below says 2 servings, but these are very large servings so I usually get 3 days of breakfast out of one batch. That’s enough to curb my craving for, like, a day or so. Enjoy!

March is National Nutrition Month! We’re now more than halfway into it, so this is a good time to check in on my goals for the month. At work, we’re using this month to encourage employees to try new foods with the goal of adding more variety to their diets. I had this grand goal of trying all kinds of new foods myself and, well, I haven’t done as well as I had hoped. I started out strong by purchasing a prickly pear at the fruit and vegetable market because I was curious and had heard they’re good. After it gave me several tiny yet surprisingly painful splinters, I was afraid to touch it, so it ended up going bad before I could clean and cut it. Turns out the name actually has meaning. Oops! I’ll have to give it another go before the month is over. Next time I’ll be sure to wear gloves.

One new thing I actually have tried lately is cooking with tofu. Technically this is something I tried before March, but I did it while we were planning for National Nutrition Month at work. I got a little excited about trying new things and got a jump start on the month…that still counts, right? To be honest, I’ve had tofu before and never really liked it, so I never tried cooking it at home. I had some really tasty teriyaki tofu recently, though, and it made me want to try cooking with it myself. Naturally, this Texas girl chose to start with tacos. In looking through the recipes I’ve posted to-date, I’m actually embarrassed I’ve never posted any taco recipes here before. Better late than never, right? And these tofu & mushroom tacos are so tasty that I’ve had them on repeat since the first time I made them…in fact I just had them last night.

I am personally really big on texture and don’t like anything mushy, so for these tacos I stuck with extra firm tofu. The key really is in the marinade. Tofu and mushrooms are great for taking up the flavors they’re cooked in, and giving them a little time to soak up all of the amazing flavors and spices from this marinade makes the tacos extra mouth-watering. Bonus – they cook up really quickly after they’re marinated, making them great for a weeknight dinner. Topped with the yogurt-based Cilantro Lime Crema (recipe follows taco recipe) and some avocado, they’re both delicious and nutritious. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

I’ve had to wear glasses since I was 5 years old. The story of how my parents discovered that I needed glasses is quite amusing, actually. I ran into walls. A lot. I’m not talking about just bumping the wall as I walked through the doorway. No, I would walk right into a big solid wall with no hesitation and sometimes hit so hard that I would fall backward. My parents just thought that I was “a little slow” (their words, not mine). We won’t even talk about how disturbing it is that they thought I might be developmentally challenged yet they just shrugged it off…it was the ’70s and things were different then. Anyway, when I was in kindergarten, my teacher noticed that I couldn’t see the chalkboard and relayed that information to my parents. My life was changed forever. Despite being teased incessantly as the only kid in class with “four eyes”, I flourished with my new-found ability to see. As time went on, the huge bug-eyed frames of the ’80s gradually got smaller to fit my narrow face, and in my teens I began wearing contact lenses. Finally, I could fit in with my peers!

I may have a strong visual impairment, but my eyes have always otherwise been healthy. Today I went to the eye doctor, though, and he found a tiny hole in my retina. It’s nothing to be alarmed about at the moment, but it could potentially grow and I would have to have laser surgery. There was no traumatic event or infection that caused the hole, and according to the doctor this is something that can just happen spontaneously. This, of course, got me thinking about eye health and what we can do to take care of our peepers on a daily basis. Getting the proper nutrients is a good start.

The carrot is famous for being good for your eyes because it has beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, but there are plenty of other foods that offer eye-protective nutrients as well.

There are two other noteworthy precursors to vitamin A, lutein and zeaxanthin, which give foods a yellow or red color. Good sources of lutein and zeaxanthin include squash, egg yolks, and green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale.

Anti-oxidants such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and vitamin C protect the eyes from age-related damage. We all know fish (especially fatty fish like salmon) have a lot of omega-3s, but they can also be found in walnuts, flax seeds, and soybeans. Vitamin E can be found in nuts and seeds, avocado, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. Vitamin C is famously found in citrus fruits, but is also abundant in red peppers (raw), green leafy vegetables, squash, and sweet potatoes.

And zinc is important for delivering vitamin A to the retina so it can work its protective magic. Zinc is found in meats like beef and chicken, eggs, and beans.

You may have noticed that some of the foods have more than one eye-protective nutrient, so they give your eyes extra love. Eggs have the dynamic duo lutein and zeaxanthin as well as zinc. Green leafy vegetables also have the dynamic duo and vitamins E and C. Squash has vitamin C and, big surprise, the dynamic duo. The list goes on. With all of these options, we should all be able to easily eat for healthy eyes.

This stuffed acorn squash recipe has several eye protective ingredients and it is filling and delicious. I actually was inspired when I found a recipe from Molly Yeh that used walnut “sausage” crumbles. I’m trying to eat less meat, so I felt the need to try it and see if it really tastes like sausage. Her recipe called for cheddar cheese and I didn’t have any on hand, so rather than going on the short walk required to get to the grocery store, I used Parmesan cheese and I was very happy with the result. The combination of spices really makes it taste like sausage, and the walnuts have a great meaty texture. The recipe makes more crumbles than you need for this squash, so I have been using the leftovers in grain bowls and salads. Any Italian sausage can be substituted if you prefer meat, but if you try the walnut crumbles, you won’t miss the meat. I also made my own pesto, but of course you can save time by using store-bought. Regardless, I’ve included the recipes for the walnut “sausage” crumbles, pesto, and stuffed squash below. Enjoy!!

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Lay 2 halves of squashes cut side up on baking sheet and scoop seeds out with a spoon. Rub or brush flesh with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over cut sides of squash.
3. Bake squash for about 30 minutes, or until slightly tender.
4. Meanwhile, combine sausage crumbles, farro, mushrooms, onion, spinach, and pesto in a bowl and mix well.
5. Once squash is removed from oven, scoop 1/4 of the filling into the center of each squash half where the seeds were scooped out. Push the filling down with your spoon to pack it in.
6. Sprinkle parmesan evenly over each squash half.
7. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until squash is fork-tender.
8. Garnish with a little basil & serve.

Directions
1. Add all ingredients to a food processor.
2. Pulse until you no longer see chunks of walnuts and the mixture begins to clump together in crumbles.
3. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

I am so far behind on finishing this post, and for that I apologize! I am happy to say that I have officially submitted my dietetic internship applications and I can get back to regularly cooking and sharing on here.

As you may know, I spent a couple of weeks over the holidays on the road moving my BF from Brooklyn to Arizona, and it was a pretty awesome trip, albeit a little rushed at times. We kicked it off before the sun came up on December 28, stopped in Dallas for some family time and New Years festivities, then continued westward to the Phoenix area. Day 1 was the most notable because we made a few stops along the way. First, we did a quick driving tour of the Gettysburg battlegrounds. That was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Admittedly, I didn’t pay much attention in high school history classes, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the events that shaped our world. Due to the government shutdown, some of the monuments in Gettysburg were closed, but we at least got to peek into the cemetery where Lincoln gave his famous address, and we spent quite a bit of time at Little Round Top, the site of a famous battle involving troops mostly from New York and Texas (the original NY vs TX standoff).

After several more hours of driving, we stopped for dinner at The Tavern in Abingdon, VA then checked out The Martha Washington Inn just down the street, both of which served as hospitals for Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Unfortunately, I was way more interested in eating my dinner than photographing it, so I have nothing to show you. Trust me when I say, though, that The Tavern is worth checking out if you’re in the area and I can definitely recommend the baked salmon with tomatoes, feta, and spinach. It was delicious. The Martha Washington Inn was interesting as well. It’s a gorgeous mansion that is supposedly haunted. We thought about staying there, but I was a wimp and didn’t think I would be able to sleep a wink. Maybe another time.

After we filled our bellies, we went a little further down the road into Tennessee to check out the Christmas lights all around the Bristol Motor Speedway then take a lap of the track. Although I wasn’t driving and we were only going about 30 mph, it was pretty cool to be on a real NASCAR track. The angle on that thing is no joke. My BF said it felt like we were going to tip. I couldn’t feel it from the passenger seat, but it looked steep so I’ll take his word for it.

Days 2 and 3 were just a lot of driving – across Tennessee, down into Arkansas, then into Texas for a bit of a break from the driving.

After spending a few fun days ringing in the new year with my family, we got back on the road. It took what seemed like an eternity to get out of the state of Texas. Seriously, I lived there for the first 31 years of my life and still had no comprehension of exactly how huge that state is until now. There wasn’t really much to see on our drive through west Texas except oil derricks and refineries. On the plus side, I saw my first tumbleweed when it rolled into the middle of the freeway and I had to swerve to avoid it. Luckily, there weren’t any cars around us at the time. The route we took through New Mexico into Arizona wasn’t really all that scenic either, but 2 days after we left Dallas, we ended our trip in Phoenix. We spent a few days exploring, then sadly I had to hop on a plane back to NY for a dietetic internship open house.

How did we survive 5 days trapped in a car together? My coworkers had given me a book of “Would You Rather?” questions, and that kept us occupied for long stretches. It’s a really fun book – the questions stimulated a lot of conversation, so definitely check it out if you have any trips coming up. We did a lot of belting out the tunes whenever we could get a clear radio station. Ok, maybe it was mostly me doing the singing. Alright, alright, it was really only me, but I did it to entertain us both! We also talked a bit of trash about the cars flying past us. Seriously, there are some insane drivers out there, and we ranked Tennessee number 1 for the worst drivers encountered on this trip. They drive crazy fast and cut people off…and a lot of them are in very large trucks. Scary.

What did we eat? Eating on a road trip can be tricky because roadside eateries and gas stations don’t generally have many nutritious options. Sometimes we needed to just get out of the car and sit down for a meal, so we went with it and did the best we could, but we definitely would not have felt good by the end of the trip if that’s all we had to eat. We planned ahead and brought nutritious snacks so that we knew we were at least getting in some good nutrients along the way. The snacks really were clutch. We had trail mix, chocolate & peanut butter snack balls, cheese, oranges, and smoothies. One of the smoothies we took is one of my long-time favorites – Dark Cherry Oat Smoothie. I packed them in reusable squeezy pouches like the ones they sell kids’ applesauce in. Those pouches are awesome…I got them on Amazon for the trip and now I use them to take smoothies to work with me.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a tasty smoothie recipe to add to your breakfast (or snack) game, look no further!

Oh, hello there! It’s been a bit since I last posted and I was starting to miss this little blog thing here. As you may know from my previous post, I went on a road trip after Christmas that lasted into the new year and it was so much fun! I am working on a post recapping the whole adventure, so stay tuned. Since I got back, though, I’ve been in over my head with applying for dietetic internships. It’s hard to believe the time has finally come to put what I’ve learned into practice and I have to say that, even with all of the excitement of finally reaching this milestone, it’s a wee bit overwhelming.

First, before I can even think about hitting “submit” on that application, I had to put together a professional portfolio so that my program director can give the official thumbs up that I completed all of the required courses. I’ve also been attending internship fairs and open houses for the programs I’m interested in. The application itself is a lot of work, too. You have to request letters of recommendation and transcripts, make sure your resume is beyond impressive, and write an amazing personal statement that not only speaks to your character and capabilities, but also provides insight into what motivates you to pursue dietetics in general and, more particularly, what makes the program to which you’re applying the right fit…all in less than 1,000 words. That’s not a lot of words, y’all!! And apparently, “I want to help people and I love food, soooo…” isn’t gonna cut it. If applying to more than one program (and with only 50% of students getting into programs each year, applying to more than one is a good idea), then you’re writing multiple statements. Needless to say, things are a little crazy around here. That said, I wanted to pop in and say hi and share a nice, hearty slow cooker recipe that might come in handy when trying to avoid stepping foot outside in this wintry mess we have headed our way this weekend.

This Slow Cooker Ginger Orange Chicken recipe has been in the works for a while and I think I finally got it right. Good thing citrus is still in season! It’s a complete balanced meal in one, with lean chicken, brown rice, and loads of colorful veggies. With a little spice from the ginger and crushed red pepper, some bright sweetness from the orange, and a little savory from soy sauce, this dish hits all the right notes. It smells really good while it’s cooking, too. So, throw everything into your slow cooker and let the aromas fill the air while you bundle up on the couch with a good book or a little binge watching (I highly recommend the Netflix series You…loved the show despite the fact that I will never see Dan Humphrey the same way again). Stay warm, y’all!

Directions
1. Salt & pepper chicken and heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, or about 3 minutes on each side.
2. Combine ingredients 3 through 9 in slow cooker and mix well.
3. Add veggies and stir.
4. Nestle chicken into veggie mixture. The kale will be really bulky – that’s ok as long as it fits well enough to put the lid on. The kale will wilt as it cooks.
5. Lay orange slices across the top of the chicken.
6. Cover, and set slow cooker to high temperature for 3 hours*
7. Str veggies to coat with sauce and serve with orange slice as garnish.

* Note: cooking time may vary for different slow cookers, so check to make sure rice is cooked before serving. If not, add a little cooking time.

Tell me, have any of you watched You yet? Did it creep you out as badly as it did me? Any other binge-worthy recs?

I hope you are all surviv…errr…enjoying this holiday season! I haven’t yet been able to get in the spirit over here with final projects and exams, but I am happy to say that the semester is now officially over and I AM DONE WITH MY DPD CLASSES!!!!!!!! If you’re getting the impression that I’m really freakin’ excited, you are very perceptive. For those who aren’t familiar with DPD classes, they are the series of courses that are required before you can apply to a dietetic internship and sit for the registered dietitian exam. This has been 3.5 years in the making and, while it doesn’t mean that I’m done with school and stress, it is a major hurdle in this career-changing journey. The next step is to apply to dietetic internships in February and continue to take classes for my master’s program. If all works out and I get matched with an internship program, that will begin in late August and will take 9-12 months to complete. In summary, I’m not done, but I’m making progress and I’ll take it.

Other big news in Buttercup-land is that my BF is moving away temporarily to complete training for his career, so we are going on a road trip! While I’m not excited to have to live thousands of miles apart for any amount of time, I am excited to have some good quality time on the road, checking out parts of the country neither of us has ever seen. If you follow me on Instagram (@eatupbuttercup.blog), I’ll be sure to post some pics along the way. They will probably include food. Oh, who am I kidding? They will definitely include food.

But, now that school is out and we’ve mapped our trip, I can focus on getting jolly. For starters, we put lights on Milo the Moose (the papier mache moose head on our living room wall), and I made Christmas cookies for co-workers. And today at around 4:30 pm, a light bulb went off in my head and I finally realized that Christmas is just a few days away. Yikes! So this is as good a time as any to talk about holiday eating strategies. Some people think they have to fast all day until the big dinner. Admittedly, I have done that in the past (before I began studying nutrition, of course). You really should eat a good breakfast, and lunch or a snack or two if your holiday meal is on the later side, for at least a couple of reasons. First, you’re going to be starving by the time dinner rolls around, and you’re likely to eat 5 times as much as you normally would. While I don’t think a holiday is the time to count calories, nobody wants to eat so much that they are in pain from overeating. Second, eating at regular intervals is necessary to maintain stable blood sugar, which helps with both weight management and mood. I don’t know about you, but I get HANGRY, y’all! You will be eating for the sake of those around you, and they will thank you.

I made this breakfast strata for Thanksgiving and it was just what we needed to start the day off on the right foot. Lots of veggies and protein to fuel a full day of festivities. I assembled it the night before so that the bread had a chance to soak up the egg mixture, then in the morning I threw it in the oven without having to even think about it. We also had enough left over to eat for lunch and dinner the next day. And it was delicious. Win, win! This would be great for Christmas morning, New Year’s Day hangover breakfast, or hosting weekend brunch. Enjoy!

Directions
1. Cut or tear bread into 1-inch pieces and place in a 9” square baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
2. Add ingredients 2 through 8 (onion through sausage) plus 1/2 of cheese and stir.
3. Whisk eggs with milk, oregano, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour egg mixture evenly over top of bread mixture.
5. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.
6. Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour; overnight is preferable.
7. When ready to cook, pre-heat oven to 350°.
8. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a fork poked into the center of the casserole comes out clean.

Anyone else do a little dance after reading that title? No? Alrighty then…

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with friends and/or family and more good food than you could handle! As the title to this post suggests, we are now officially knee deep in the holiday hustle and it’s all coming at us like a freight train. Regardless of which holidays you celebrate and whether those holidays are joyful or stressful for you, I think we can all agree that this time of year can be very emotional. It’s definitely a balancing act with school/work deadlines, social engagements, figuring out where you’ll be celebrating the holidays or planning to host, shopping for the perfect gifts in overcrowded stores, and travel. There’s also the inevitable family member (or friend) who you would normally dive under a school bus to avoid running into, yet, on the holidays you’re the jerk if you don’t spend an eternity listening to how his or her dogs are doing. And let’s not forget about all of the food surrounding this time of year.

Over the past few years, I’ve made some changes in my mindset regarding food and they have helped relieve a little of the holiday stress. So, here are a few tips that have worked for me:

Eat a lot of veggies. Really, this is something I do throughout the year now, but during this time of year there are sweets galore and gatherings that involve eating heavy food, so eating more veggies in between celebrations helps ensure that your body is still getting properly nourished. Bonus: fill up on the good stuff and you won’t want to eat the entire gingerbread house.

Eat in as much as you can. Clearly, you can’t bail on the company holiday dinner, but maybe you can bring your lunch that day. Or say no to the holiday soiree your friend’s husband’s sister’s cousin is throwing and stay home instead. I have to admit, saying no to social functions used to be a hard one for me, but these days I don’t feel guilty for opting out of an event or two if it helps keep me sane. And having good food at home makes staying in so much more appealing. Making big batches of a couple of meals on Sunday will help ensure you always have something good to eat at home.

Relax. You’re going to splurge a little during the holidays. We all do it and it is not the end of the world, or even the end of your health or diet goals. The worst thing you can do is beat yourself up every time you indulge. Actually, even worse is to give up because you think you blew it anyway. Take a step back and breathe. One cookie, or one day of eating (ahem, Thanksgiving), or even a week of holiday parties is not going to destroy what you’ve worked for. Just resume regularly scheduled healthy habits and move forward. And remember to be present and enjoy time with your loved ones rather than worrying about how many calories you just ordered to, “get in my belly”. It will all be OK.

Need a good batch recipe? Make my chicken and dumplings!!! In this post, I talked about trying to recreate my Grammy’s chicken and dumplings. I kept the essence of Grammy’s chicken & dumplings, but bulked it up with more veggies and made the dumplings from scratch rather than using a biscuit mix (I didn’t love the ingredients in the mix and the BF and I agreed that it tasted a bit like plastic). I struggled with getting the perfect fluffy dumpling and we ate a lot of them in the process, but I finally got it right and the result is sooooo good. This also happens to be a great soul-warming cold weather meal. It’s easy to make, but does take a bit of time (about 1.5 hours total prep + cooking), so plan ahead. Enjoy!

Directions
1. In large pot over medium heat, sauté onions in olive oil until they begin to soften.
2. Add garlic and cook for about a minute.
3. Add celery, carrots, potato, salt, and pepper and stir to mix.
4. Add chicken breasts, chicken stock, bay leaf, and enough water to cover chicken breasts and bring to a boil.
5. After chicken has boiled for about 20 minutes, reduce heat to a simmer, remove breasts from pot and shred with a fork. Return chicken to pot.
6. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with about 3 tablespoons of hot water and mix until a smooth paste forms. Add cornstarch mixture to pot and mix thoroughly.
7. Let stew simmer for about 20 minutes or until liquid thickens to desired stew consistency.
8. While stew is simmering, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.
9. Cut softened butter into flour mixture until little beads of dough form consistently throughout mixture.
10. Slowly stir milk into flour mixture a little bit at a time until all dry ingredients are incorporated into dough. It will be a thick dough that will be difficult to stir.
11. Once stew is thickened to desired consistency, lower heat if needed to maintain a low simmer, remove the bay leaf, and stir in parsley and more salt & pepper if needed.
12. Drop 1 tablespoon of dough at a time onto the top of the stew, starting along the edge of the pot and working your way inward.
13. Cover pot and let simmer for 20 minutes.
14. Remove lid and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Look at how light and airy that dumpling is!The stew underneath is delicious too.